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Palm-Aire welcomes golf pro

PALM-AIRE — Jay Seymour was a senior in high school when he turned to his golf coach and saw what he would one day become.

His coach was a seasonal golf professional, and at that moment, Seymour couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend his days than out on the golf course.

“He would spend nine months out of the year working at the golf course, and I thought that was a much better office than working in a cubicle,” Seymour said.

In 2000, Seymour moved to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to attend Coastal Carolina University’s Professional Golf Management Program. Last month, Seymour was named Palm-Aire Country Club’s new assistant golf professional.

In his role, Seymour is responsible for running some of the member groups, including the Men’s Golf Association, the Women’s Golf Association and the men’s and women’s nine-hole teams, among others.

Additionally, Seymour also coordinates tee times, works in the Pro Shop and provides individual instruction and member service, among other tasks.

But of all of the duties associated with being an assistant golf professional, for Seymour, helping others perfect their swing is by far the most rewarding.

“I like teaching,” Seymour said. “I just like seeing people’s enjoyment. It’s nice seeing their (reactions) and (how much) enjoyment they (get from) the game out of a little work.

“I try to ease the frustration of people and it’s nice to be able to alleviate some of that stress because golf can be painful at times,” he said.

A native of Camden, Maine, Seymour began playing golf when he was 12 years old after deciding to go out on the course with one of his friends and his friend’s dad. The course was only two miles away from where he grew up, which made it easy for junior golfers to play.

Seymour paid a green fee every time he went out to play, and before long, he had played enough rounds to pay for the $125 membership fee.

From then on, Seymour began signing up for junior memberships and eventually joined his high school team. Upon graduating from Coastal Carolina University’s Professional Golf Management Program in 2005, Seymour began working at Caledonia Golf and Fish Club as an assistant golf professional.

During his time at Caledonia, Seymour also worked as an instructor with the Steve Dresser Golf Academy and the South Carolina Junior Golf Association, among others.

In March 2009, Seymour was elected to the PGA of America as a Class A member. This past March, Seymour, and his girlfriend, Kelly Troyer, moved to Sarasota.

When he’s not busy working at Palm-Aire, Seymour tries to get out on the course at least once or twice a week either with friends or with Troyer.

“We play together a little bit — when she lets me teach her,” Seymour said. “If you can teach your significant other, then you can teach anyone.”

Seymour has played hundreds of rounds of golf over the years, but there is one round of golf that he’ll never forget. It was the Fourth of July in 2003 and the first time Seymour’s mom, Donna, had ever been out on the golf course.

It was there that Seymour made his first-ever hole-in-one.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Does that happen?’” he remembers. I said, ‘No that doesn’t usually happen.’ “It went very well.”

As for the future, Seymour plans to continue to work his way up through the business with the hope of one day becoming a head golf professional and eventually a master PGA professional.